Hinged Ramp Assembly

Abstract

A ramp is assembled from first and second boards such that the first and second boards are foldable relative to one another. Rail assemblies comprising first and second channels are fastened along opposing sides of the boards. First and second hinge members, fastened to the sides of the first and second channels, pivotally couple the channels. Two central hinge members are mounted on the boards respectively to pivotally couple the boards at a central location between the opposing sides of the boards. An auxiliary hinge member is supported on the bottom of the first channels to provided added support to the pivotal coupling between the first and second channels. The auxiliary hinge member and the central hinge members are interchangeable with one another.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to a ramp assembly formed from a kit of parts including hinged side rail assemblies for pivotally coupling a pair of boards in an end to end configuration by fastening the side rail assemblies along opposing sides of the boards.BACKGROUND[0002]Many examples of ramp structures can be found in the prior art which differ considerably in design. For a manufacturer, it is desirable to design a ramp which is of low cost to manufacture, which makes use of readily available materials, and which has sufficient strength for many different applications when sold to customers. Due to the large size of many ramp structures, it is further desirable for ramps to be foldable into a collapsed storage position.[0003]The following U.S. patents disclose various examples of folding ramp structures: U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,123 belonging to Bilyard; U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,725 belonging to Cole; U.S. Pat. No. 7,299,517 belonging to Adinolfe; U.S. Pat. No. ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The invention provides a ramp kit and a ramp structure that can be easily assembled and is cost-effective. The ramp kit includes a pair of hinged side rail assemblies that pivotally support the ramp structure. The hinge members are designed to be attached to the side rails and the fasteners on the rails are designed to securely attach the ramp to the side rails. The ramp structure is assembled from a kit of parts, making it easy to manufacture and ship to customers. The hinge members provide additional strength to the assembled ramp structure, even when made from readily available materials like plywood. The hinge members are designed to be interchanged with components of the ramp structure, further adding to the strength of the assembled ramp structure."

Problems solved by technology

In the prior art, known designs for ramp structures typically require custom manufacturing of many complex parts so that the resulting ramp structure is both costly to make and ship to customers.

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